Tram-car wheel.



2 SHEETB-SHEET 1.

PATBNTED APR. 4, 1905.

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G. T. BOND. TRAM GAR WHEEL.

APPLIUATION FILED AUG. 27, 1904.

- WKNCBBCS PATENTED APR. 4, 1905.

G. T. BOND. TRAM GAR WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 27, 1904.

2 SHBETSSHEBT 2.

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UNITED STATES Patented April 4, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

TRAM-CAR WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 786,.05, dated April 4, 1905.

Application filed August 2'7, 1904. Serial No. 222,471.

I0 all whom, it nuty concern:

Be it known that I, GE RGE T. BOND, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Birmingham, in the county of Jefferson and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tram-Car \Vheels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in wheels, designed more especially for mine-cars; and it has for its objects among others to provide an improved wheel for this purpose of that class in which the cap is formed integral with the hub and the latter retained upon the axle by a pin passed transversely through an opening in the axle and engaged with a shoulder or wall within the cap or other portion of the hub.

I form the hub with an oil-chamber surrounding a web, in which latter the axle-nib is received, and beyond said oil-chamber I provide an annular recess or chamber independent of the oil-chamber which is traversed by the axle-nib and which is adapted to receive a pin freely-movable transversely of the axle-nib, the parts being assembled by placing the pin within the transverse opening in the axle-nib, the pin of course being of such length relatively to the length of the opening as to be held entirely inclosed within the latter, then inserting the end of theaxlenib into the hub until the portion thereof containing the pin comes coincident with the annular recess in the hub, when the pin falls by gravity and engages in the said recess so as to prevent withdrawal of the axle. This pin is freely rotatable within the opening in the axle and free to readily drop through either end of the said opening. This free rotation of the pin tends to prevent wear thereon and also to decrease the frictional engagement of the same with the walls of the recess, the beneficial effects of which will be readily appreciated.

In order to provide for the ready removal of the axle when desired, I form the cap with an opening in line with the bore of the pinreceiving opening, through which opening in the cap a pin or other suitable device may be placed to elevate the pin so that it will lie wholly within the opening in the axle, and then the latter may be withdrawn with ease.

In order to adapt the wheel for use where it is liable to encounter water and to prevent the same from entering the oil-chamber, I provide the hub with a filling-aperture normally closed by a spring-actuated plug, the said aperture communicating by a lateral passage with the oil-chamber within the hub, so that the plug may be readily forced in by the nozzle of the oil-can or other means and the oilintroduced, and when thenozzle is removed the spring will automatically return the plug to normalcy.

The hub may be constructed in a variety of ways to provide the oil-chamber and its communication with the filling-aperture, some of which are herein illustrated; but itis to be understood that the axle-retaining means may be employed in connection with a hub of any construction and is not in any way restricted to its employment in connection with the particular construction of hub herein illustrated, so far as pertains to the manner of connection between the filling-aperture and the oil-chamber.

I aim, further, at improvements in the details of construction whereby I am enabled to form a better wheel at a minimum cost and one which in use will be most efiicient and durable for the purposes for which it is in tended.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear and the novel features thereof will be specifically defined by the appended claims.

The invention in some of its preferred forms is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the numerals of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a substantially central section through a tram-wheel embodying my present invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-section thereof as on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 isa crosssection as on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1. showing a slightlymodified form of hub. Fig. 5 is a cross-section as on the line 5 5 of Fig. I.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views in which they appear.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1, E2, and 3, the numeral 1 designates the wheel, which, aside from the particulars hereinafter described, may be of any of the well-known forms of construction. The hub 2 is formed with a central oil-chamber 3, from which extend the oil-channels 4:, through which the oil may find its way to the journal. The inner end of the hub may or may not be formed with an annular recess 5, as seen in Fig. 1, to receive a suitable packing 6. The cap 7 is formed integral with the outer end of the hub or rigidly affixed thereto and is formed with an interior annular recess or chamber 8, which, it will be noted, is entirely independentof the oil-chamber, and this recess is of somewhatgreater diameter than that of the axle-nib, the latter having its outer end received in the socket 9, which in this form of the invention is formed in the outer wall of the cap. .10 is the axle, the extreme end portion of which is formed with a transverseopening 11, as shown, the said opening being so disposed with relation to the end of the axle that when the latter is in its proper position within the hub the said opening will be coincident with the recess 8, as seen in Fig. 1. 12 is a pin fitted to freely move within the transverse opening in the axle, and this pin is of substantially the length of the diameter of the axle end, so that it may be inclosed entirely within the opening when the axle is inserted into the hub. 13 is an opening in the cap at right angles to the length of the axle, so that a pin or other simple implement may be readily inserted to bear against the end of the pin to push it wholly within the opening in the axle when it may be required to withdraw the axle from the hub. It is essential that this pin should be free to move endwise in both directions through the opening in the axle and also to rotate within the said opening. For this purpose the lattcr,itis herein shown as cylindrical, and the opening is of corresponding shape in cross-section. Still it will be obvious that other shapes may be employed, provided the pin is free to have the necessary longitudinal and rotative movements within its opening in the axle. This free rotation of the pin prevents undue wearing by friction as well as ease and certainty of movement longitudinally.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 3 the lubricant is supplied through an opening or aperture 14 in the hub lengthwise thereof and a passage 15 at an angle thereto, as clearly shown in these views. The passage 15 communicates with the oil-chamber through one of the channels 4, as shown. In order to tightly close this suppl y-apertu re and prevent ingress of water, I make the opening of substantially the length of the thickness of the hub, more or less, and within the same I dispose a plug 16, having a stem 17, with a head 18 extended through the opposite wall of the hub, and around this stem is a spring 19, conlined between a shoulder 20 on the plug and the end 21 of the aperture in the hub. By this means the plug is normally forced outward, so that its outer end will be flush with the outer wall of the hub and securely close the entrance to the passage. When it is desired to introduce oil, all that is necessary to do is to insert the end of the nozzle 22 of the can or other implement, the said implement forcing the plug back against the tension of the spring, when the oil may be introduced, and from the opening in the hub it finds its way by the right-angled passage into the oilchamber and to the journal. To insert the axle into the hub, the pin is placed within the opening in the axle and the latter pushed inward, the web 23 serving to keep the pin within the opening till the axle has been inserted, so that the opening therein and the pin come opposite the recess 8, when the pin falls by gravity into the position in which it is seen in Fig. 1 and where it effectually prevents withdrawal of the axle, as will be readily understood.

The same essential features of construction are embodied in the form shown in Figs. 1 and5, the only difference being in the interior formation of the cap portion and the hub. In this form the annular oil-chamber 3 and the web 23 are the same as in Figs. 1 to 3. The annular recess for the reception of the pin in the axle is the same; but the oil is introduced from the end of the cap through an opening 24: and finds its way to the oil-chamber through the curved passages 25, extending from the opening in the end of the cap, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the socket 9 in this instance being formed intermediate the end wall of the cap and the annular recess, but receiving the end of the journal in the same manner as in Fig. 1 and for a like purpose. The lubricant finds its way to the journal through the radial passages or openings 26. The pin may be forced into its opening in the axle for the purpose of withdrawal by a pin or other suitable device introduced through the opening 27 in the outer wall of the cap and a coincident opening 28 in the wall of the recess upon the opposite side of the passage 25, as seen clearly in Fig. 4.

Modifications in detail within the skill of the mechanic may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages. For instance, it may be found expedient in some cases to have the pin in the axle movable through one end only of its opening, the other end of the said opening being closed, and a spring interposed between the end wall of the opening and the adjacent end of the pin, this form being desirable in round axles, the spring serving to keep the pin at all times projected, so as to prevent accidental withdrawal of the axle, it being understood that the said pin may be forced inward against the tension of the spring to wholly confine the pin within its opening when it is desired to withdraw the axle from the hub. This, as well as other variations, 1 should consider as coming within the scope of the protection prayed.

Vhat is claimed as new is 1. A wheel having an oil-chamber and annular recess independent thereof, combined with an axle having atransverse opening and a pin freely movable within said opening and adapted to be wholly confined within the same for the insertion of the axle and when the axle has been inserted to automatically protrude from said opening into said recess.

2. A Wheel having an annular recess, and an axle having a transverse opening, and a pin freely rotatable within said opening and adapted to protrude beyond the periphery of the axle and into said recess.

3. A wheel having a rigid cap, with annular recess and socket for the reception of the end of the axle, combined with an axle having a transverse opening, and a pin freely movable longitudinally and rotatably Within said opening and adapted to protrude beyond the periphery thereof to engage within said recess.

4. A wheel having its hub formed with an oil-chamber with communicating channels, and an annular recess independent of said oilchamber, and with an opening at right angles to the length of the hub and communicating with said recess.

5. A car-wheel formed with rigid cap having socket and annular recess, said wheel having also its hub formed with an oil-chamber independent of said recess and means for introducing a lubricant into said chamber.

6. A wheel having an oil-chamber within having its hub formed with an oil-chamber independent of said recess and a surrounding web with openings, combined with an axle having a transverse opening, and a pin freely movable within said opening both longitudinally and rotatablyand of a length to be confined wholly within said opening in the axle for the insertion of the latter into the hub, said web serving to so confine the pin, and the latter adapted to automatically protrude from the said opening into the recess when the recess and opening are coincident.

8. A metallic car-wheel having a hub with rigid cap formed with annular recess and a bearing for the axle upon opposite sides of said recess, combined with an axle having a transverse opening and a pin freely movable therein both longitudinally and axially.

9. A metallic car-wheel having a hub with annular web and integral cap with annular recess and opening through the wall of the cap at an angle to the length of the hub and in line with and communicating with said recess, combined with an axle having a transverse opening, and a pin rotatable within said opening and adapted to protrude therethrough into said recess.

Signed by me at WVashington, District of Columbia, this 27th day of August, 1904.

GEORGE T. BOND.

Witnesses:

G. A. SMITH, THos. H. BANES. 

